Use the Agency Checklist as a tool to help you find a caregiver for an aging relative. Once you find an agency that best suits your needs, the next task will be ensuring that the caregiver is a good match. A reputable agency will be glad to arrange a meeting with the prospective caregiver. You can use the Caregiver Interview Guide in this manual as a tool to help in the decision process. Note that this does not include questions about scheduling or conflicts because the agency should be responsible for ensuring that the caregiver’s schedule matches your needs.

How does your Agency Choose Its Caregivers?

What is the process for screening your caregivers? Do you complete a background check (criminal, driving, work permit status and past references)?

Do you have a minimum for years of caregiving experience for applicants?

What is the ratio of the applicants you hire to the applicants you interview?

What is the training procedure for newly hired caregivers? What types of topics are covered?

Do you offer continuing education training for your caregivers?

What Are Your Agency’s Staffing and Scheduling Procedures?

How do you match caregivers to clients? Do you guarantee a personality match and offer caregiver interviews? What happens if a senior wants a different caregiver?

Is it typical to expect the same caregiver each time or do you rotate caregivers?

What steps do you take to ensure reliable staffing?

What happens in the event that a caregiver is unavailable or calls in sick?

What Is the Agency’s Legal Responsibility?

Are your caregivers screened, bonded and insured? Do you employ your caregivers and take care of taxes, withholding and workers’ compensation?

What protections are there against theft?

What client services, caregiver services and confidentiality forms are used and can you describe the main points of each?

What Makes Your Agency Stand Out?

What unique programs/trainings/materials does your agency offer its caregivers, staff, and clients compared with other agencies?

What types of payments do you accept and what are your billing procedures (is there a contact? cancellation fee?)

Is the care manager available on-call 24/7? Does he/she perform regular quality assurance visits?

Is the company a recognized leader in the senior care industry with published books on senior wellness and caregiving?

When your aging parent or loved one needs home care in San Mateo, call Home Care Assistance, we can be reached at (650) 462-6900.

Is your 2013 New Year’s resolution to get healthy? Are you de-cluttering the pantry – throwing out empty calorie snacks like cookies, candy and chips? Are you planning to join the gym this year? Or perhaps take up yoga?

Most adults set out in the beginning of the new year to make changes and set achievable goals. How about this new year, you set reasonable goals – those that are easy to start and stick to for a longer period of time? Here’s how: set modest, attainable goals and slowly chalk up petite successes as you steadily build confidence. This new year resolution strategy leads to sustainable health improvements over time.

We’re not discouraging you to set lofty goals like losing 20 pounds — but know that it will take more that a month to accomplish it. So, after a month, when you haven’t lost the 20 pounds, you won’t throw in the towel and give up.

“We’re guilty of that all-or-nothing mentality in so many areas of our lives,” says Jessica Matthews, an exercise physiologist and spokeswoman for the San Diego-based American Council on Exercise. “We have to be doing something at 100 miles an hour or not at all.”

If you want to ramp up physical activity but are currently about as energetic as a tree sloth on a slow day, you’d be better off adding easy routines — even something as minor as parking far away from your destination. “Every step really adds up,” Matthews says.

Or just take a walk while at work. If you can’t afford the luxury of a 40-minute march, do it in manageable five-minute batches every hour, says Felicia Stoler, a New York-based registered dietitian, exercise physiologist and author of “Living Skinny in Fat Genes: The Healthy Way to Lose Weight and Feel Great.” You’ll still increase your physical activity by 40 minutes a day.

Why small steps? When you drastically cut out all fattening foods, you may bust out with a great big binge. Exercise too much and your unaccustomed muscles can suffer overuse injuries such as strains and sprains.

Making small changes can be easier and more rewarding if progress is documented, be it keeping track of food and exercise in a notebook or using smartphone apps or computer programs that track calories, nutrition and activity.

When your aging parent or loved one needs home care in San Mateo, call Home Care Assistance, we can be reached at (650) 462-6900.

As parents age, the responsibility often falls to the children to help care for them when they can no longer take care of themselves.  Sometimes this involves simply checking in on them, scooping snow from their walks or mowing their lawn and other times it can involve helping them with daily living tasks or even helping them make the decision to move from their homes into a retirement community.

If your senior loved ones are getting to the age where decisions for extra care may need to be made, there are a number of things to keep in mind.  We’ve asked our experts for their advice and tips on helping you assist your loved one to live life to the fullest!

Lee Nyberg with Home Care Assistance states, “As the holidays come to a close, many families open their eyes to the realization that their older parents or relatives are having trouble.  The first weeks of January are always our busiest time for calls.  When families get together once a year, that’s when they see that Mom or Dad isn’t doing too well.  Suddenly, they see senior care as an emergency and we’re here to help.”

“Nearly one in six Americans has a relative who is living alone but can’t perform daily living activities without assistance,” continues Lee Nyberg.  “An estimated 7 million of them live an hour or a more away from this relative.  Such needs can go unnoticed for months. Seniors themselves are often the last to realize or admit that they need help, especially to their own children. This is especially true for embarrassing bodily or memory issues. Over the years of short weekly phone calls, occasional letters and twice yearly visits, many symptoms get masked or go unnoticed. ”

“The best alternative is to hire an in-home caregiver,” concludes Nyberg.  “This is becoming the most popular solution. Of the $3.5 billion in long-term insurance benefits last year, 43 percent was for home care. That’s higher than what assisted living facilities received, and much higher than nursing home care.  Home Care Assistance handles all the aspects of hiring and managing a caregiver. They conduct thorough checks of criminal backgrounds, DMV records and legal work status. Their caregivers are bonded and insured. Plus, they can provide substitute caregivers with little notice in case of illness or emergencies.”

Read the full article on Helping Loved Ones Live a Full Life.

When your aging parent or loved one needs home care in San Mateo, call Home Care Assistance, we can be reached at (650) 462-6900.

Here are the steps to take to prevent senior scams and what to do if your senior loved one falls victim to fraud. According to the National Council on Aging, there are 8 steps to take to prevent seniors from being scammed.

1. Help your senior understand they are at risk for scams. This applies to strangers and sometimes those closest to them.

2. Keep your senior from being isolated. Staying involved with family, friends, and favorite social activities helps maintain a healthy outlook and a lower chance for being a target for scams.

3. Have your senior ask for all offers in writing.

4. Shred all sensitive documents, especially anything that includes credit card information, social security numbers, or financial account numbers.

5. Sign your senior up for the Do Not Call list located at DoNotCall.gov.

6. Enroll your senior in direct deposit for benefit checks to prevent them from being stolen from their mail box.

7. Advise seniors to never give out financial information over the phone unless they initiated the call.

8. Tell you senior loved one to be skeptical of all unsolicited offers and to take their time to become an informed consumer before making any purchases.

If your senior is a victim of senior fraud, here are some key steps to take:

- Contact your local police department.

- Call your bank and/or credit card company.

- Cancel any stolen debit or credit cards.

- Call the Area Agency on Aging serving your local area.

- Notify the FBI though its electronic tips program at tips.fbi.gov.

And finally, if you or your senior loved one would like to check out a charity or business before committing, call our local Better Business Bureau. Don’t hesitate to ask a business or charity to prove their legitimacy. Any honest business won’t mind.

When your aging parent or loved one needs home care in San Mateo, call Home Care Assistance, we can be reached at (650) 462-6900.

In celebration of the holiday season, Home Care Assistance dedicates 12 days every December to education, appreciation and volunteerism. The 12 Days of Caring program gives thanks to the thousands of Home Care Assistance caregivers who dedicate their lives to the well-being of seniors; the program also engages our communities through charitable giving and compassion. In addition, we use this time to show appreciation to our clients and find extra ways to brighten their days. 12 Days of Caring runs the entire month of December throughout the United States and Canada

Day 1 Home Care Assistance sends holiday cards to caregivers to kick-off the 12 Days of Caring campaign.

Day 2 Home Care Assistance hosts a special event in honor of its clients.

Day 3 Home Care Assistance hosts a Holiday Wish Drive throughout the month of December to provide gifts for underprivileged children.

Day 4 Home Care Assistance gifts caregivers with a relaxation gift as a thank you for their dedication and hard work.

Day 5 Home Care Assistance gifts clients with stockings that contain specialty holiday items in celebration of the season of giving.

Day 6 Home Care Assistance partners with Meals on Wheels to collect donations for their clients throughout the month of December.

Day 7 Home Care Assistance hosts a caregiver raffle.

Day 8 Home Care Assistance donates a tree for each client through the Arbor Day Foundation.

Day 9 Home Care Assistance hosts a holiday open house for all caregivers.

Day 10 Home Care Assistance donates food to local senior groups for their holiday party or other event.

Day 11 Home Care Assistance delivers mugs to clients filled with a sweet surprise.

Day 12 Home Care Assistance employees volunteer at the local soup kitchens or food banks in an effort to give back to the community.

12 Days of Caring is a labor of love initiated by the Home Care Assistance family across North America. Our inspiration for the campaign comes from years of witnessing the genuine warmth and spirit of our clients and caregivers throughout the year, but especially during the holiday season. Hearing stories of seniors with chronic illnesses collecting gifts for children with the same illnesses in local hospitals or of older adults well into their 90s taking on Foster Grandparent roles for the youth in their communities (just to name a few of the many, many inspirational stories caregivers and clients have shared with us), we wanted to find a way to give back to our devoted caregivers, inspirational clients and local communities.

We are continuously humbled by the outpouring of generosity that our community members show us. As a socially responsible partner in the community, we are committed to raising awareness and providing support for senior and health related causes that align with our mission and core values.

12 Days of Caring

When your aging parent or loved one needs home care in San Mateo, call Home Care Assistance, we can be reached at (650) 462-6900.